Ratchet spanner wrench



Nov. 6, 1951 c. A. SZETELA RATCHET SPANNER WRENCH Filed Aug. 25, 1949Inventor": Qasimere A. Szeteia,

" His AtL iovney.

iatented Nov. 6, 1951 Gasimere A. S zetela Adams; Mass., asisignor toGeneral Electric Company, a, corporation of New York ApplicationAligllst 23,- 1949, Serial No. 111,908

My invention relates to hand tools, and more particularly to spannerwrenches. V

In various types of shop work, and in many manufacturing operations, itfrequently becomes necessary to apply a turning force to a body having alarge diameter, and under conditions where the space available forapplying the necessary turning force is restricted.

It is an object of this invention to provide a wrench capable of turningbodies of large diameter, and having a turning handle which has anadjustable position with respect to the object which is being turned.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a wrench for turningbodies of large 2 Claims. (Cl. 8-190) diameter which will be easy tooperate where working space is restricted.

In accomplishment of these objectives, this invention provides a ratchetspanner wrench having an arcuate gripping spanner element and a handleelement which are relatively movable by means of slide elementspivotally mounted on the handle which move along grooved tracks on thearcuate spanner element.

The features of this invention Which I believe to be novel are set forthwith particularity in the appended claims. My invention itself, however,both as to its organization and use, together with further objects andadvantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in whichFig. 1 represents a plan view of the wrench of myinvention; Fig. 2represents a cross-sectional view 'along line 22 of the same wrench; andFig. 3 represents a view, partially cut away, of a modified form ofwrench in accordance with my invention.

Referring now to the drawing, there is shown in Fig. 1 a disk I which itis desired to turn, having symmetrically-spaced recesses 2 cut into itsouter periphery. These recesses may be in the form of notches or drilledholes. The wrench 3 of my invention is comprised of an arcuate spannerelement 4 and a handle 5. Integrally connected to the spanner element 4is a projecting ear 6 which is adapted to fit into there'c'esses 2 onthe outer periphery of the disk I. The projecting ear 6 is eitherrectangular or round in shape, depending upon the configuration of therecesses 2 on disk I with'which it is designed to mate.

in accordance with my invention, the spanner element 4 is provided withrecessed tracks I and 8 of arcuate shape which extend on both sides ofthe spanner element forthe greater part of its length. The object ofarcuate recesses 1' and .2 V 8 is to provide tracks forv slide elements9 and H which, as will be explained hereafter, are adapted to slidealong the recesses l and 8 to position the handle 5 preparatory toturning the disk I. Slide elements 9 and iii are pivotally connected tohandle extensions H and [2, respectively, by means of pins l3 and 14.The handle extensions l I and [2 are rigidly attached on each side ofthe main body of the handle 5 by any suitable method, such as welding.

A pawl i5 is pivotally mounted with respect to the handle 5 by means ofa screw l6 having its head fitting into a recess in handle extension ll,its threaded end screwed into handle extension l2, and its middleportion having a smooth surface about which the pawl l5 pivots,

The spanner'element 4 is provided with ratchet teeth I! on its outerarcuate surface, which are adapted to engage pawl l5. The pawl I5 ismaintained in engagement with the ratchet teeth 17 by means of a springl8 which bears against the pawl, with the other end of the spring l8being rigidly fastened to the handle member -5.

In the normal operation of the spanner wrench of my invention, the innerarcuate surface of the spanner element 4 of the wrench is applied to theouter periphery of the disk which is to be turned, in such manner thatthe projecting ear 6 of the spanner element 4 fits into one of therecesses 2 in the disk I. The handle 5 of the Wrench may then beadjusted to any desired position with respect to the spanner element 4by moving the handle and its attached slide elements '9 and ,ll'lalongthe grooved tracks I and 8. 'When the movement of the handle is in acounterclockwise direction, with respect to the view shown in Fig. 1,thepawl IE will slide over-the ratchet teeth-ll of the spanner element4. If the movement of the handle is in a clockwise direction, the pawll5 may be manually retracted from-the ratchetteeth I! during the periodof themovement.

.After the slide elements 9 and I0 have been 'movedto'the desiredposition along the grooved tracks I and '8, the handle 5 may then bepivoted about pins '13 and I4 until the handle assumesthe angle whichthe operator desires. The

paiwltlfiisheld in-engagement with ratchet teeth is! by means ofspringlfl, and serves as the means whereby force applied to :handle 5 iscommuni- -.cated'to spanner element 4 and thence to disk l.

l is rotated. The turning force exerted on the handle 5 is communicatedto the spanner element 4 and disk I by the engagement between the pawll5 and ratchet teeth I1.

It will be seen that my spanner wrench has great adjustability withregard to the position which the actuating handle 5 may occupy withrespect to the arcuate-shaped spanner element 4. Due to the provision ofthe slide elements 9 and ID, the pivot point of handle 5 may be moved toany position along the tracks 1 and 8, at which point the handle may bepivoted about the slide elements to any convenient angle, provided theangle of the handle 5 with respect to spanner element 4 is not more thanapproximately 60 degrees. When the axis of the handle 5 is positioned atangles of more than 60 degrees with respect to the spanner element 4,the horizontal component of force exerted on the slider elements 9 andID will be such as to cause a relative motion between the slide elements9 and I and the spanner element 4. When a turning force is being exertedon the handle 5, there should be no relative motion between the slidermembers 9 and I9 and spanner element 4. As mentioned hereinbefore, theonly time when there should be relative motion between these members iswhen the handle is being adjusted into position with respect to thespanner element 4. It is obvious that this adjustability of the positionof the handle 5 is of considerable advantage, since it permits easyoperation of the wrench under many confined and space-restrictedconditions where operation of spanner wrenches heretofore known would bevery difficult.

A further feature of my construction is the fact that an eccentric screw[6 is provided to hold the pawl I5 in position with respect to thehandle 5, thereby permitting adjustment of the pawl [5 when groovedtracks I and 8 become worn and cause a change in the position of thepawl IS with respect to the ratchet teeth ll. This condition can becorrected by turning the screw I6 so as to raise the axis about whichthe pawl 15 pivots.

A modification of my invention is shown in Fig. 3. This modifiedconstruction is provided for an application in which the conditionsunder which the wrench will be used make it necessary that the handle 5of the wrench be advanced to positions where the axis of the handle 5 isat an angle of more than 60 degrees with respect to the spanner element4. As mentioned hereinbefore, when the handle 5 is advanced to aposition of more than approximately 60 degrees with respect to thespanner element 4, the horizontal component of the force exerted uponthe handle will be such as to cause slide elements 9 and ID of the typeshown in Figs. 1 and 2 to slide along the tracks 1 and 8 when a turningforce is being exerted on handle 5, instead of remaining stationary asthey should.

In the modified structure of Fig. 3, the motion of slide elements 9 andI0 is prevented by providing one edge of the tracks I and 8 with ratchetteeth l9 with which the slide elements 9 and II) can engage. In thismodified structure, the slide elements 9 and ID are made narrower thanthe form of slide elements shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and do not fill thefull width of the track recess as do the slide elements 9 and III ofFigs. 1 and 2. This permits the slide elements shown in Fig. 3 to pivotinto engagement with the ratchet teeth l9 on the edge of the groovedtrack. By

4 means of this arrangement, the handle 5 may be advanced to a positionbeyond the limiting angle of 60 degrees with respect to the spannerelement 4 which must be observed when using the form of my inventionshown in Figs. 1 and 2.

While there have been shown and described particular embodiments of myinvention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that variouschanges and modifications can be made therein without departing from theinvention 7 and, therefore, it is aimed in the appended claims to coverall such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit andscope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is: 1. An arcuate spanner wrench of the type having at least oneprojection engaging a mating recess in the object being turned,comprising an arcuate spanner element with which said projection isintegral, said spanner element having a grooved track on each of its twoopposite arcuate surfaces which are perpendicular to the axis ofrotation, a handle for said wrench, slide elements pivotally connectedto said handle at the end thereof adjacent said spanner element, saidslide elements being movable in said grooved tracks to permit adjustmentof the position of said handle relative to said spanner element, ratchetteeth on the radially outer arcuate surface of said spanner element, anda pawl pivotally mounted on said handle and engageable with said ratchetteeth to communicate turning force applied to said handle to saidspanner element, thereby applying a turning force to said object beingturned.

2. An arcuate spanner wrench of the type having at least one projectionwhich engages a recess in the object bein turned, comprising an arcuatespanner element with which said projection is integral, said spannerelement having a grooved track on each of its two opposite arcuatesurfaces which are perpendicular to the axis of rotation, a handle forsaid wrench, slide elements pivotally connected to said handle at theend thereof adjacent said spanner element, said slide elements beingmovable in said grooved tracks to permit adjustment of the position ofsaid handle relative to said spanner element, at least one edge of eachof said grooved tracks havin teeth to permit locking said slide elementsagainst motion, ratchet teeth on the radially outer arcuate surface ofsaid spanner element, and a pawl pivotally mounted on said handle andengageable with said ratchet teeth, so that turning force applied tosaid handle is communicated through the engagement of said pawl andratchet teeth to said spanner element and thence to the object beingturned.

CASLMERE A. SZE'I'ELA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 458,337 Dodge Aug. 25, 1891630,819 Sayers Aug. 8, 1899 749,588 Smith Jan. 12, 1904 1,384,684Watkins July 12, 1921 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Name Date 18,561 GreatBritain Aug. 12, 1909

